Idea 2

Set in a dark wood. A girl is walking in a fast pace down a dirt path, clothes all torn, crying with makeup running down her face. Over her shoulder, you can see a search lights and hear dogs barking. As they get closer, she gets more tense and she starts to get more distressed. This scene is more about her emotions than about the action that is going on. The scene ends on a cliff hanger, she carries on running and fades out. This leaves the audience wanting to watch on and leaves them in a tense situation.

- I would start with a close up of the girls feet - running. This will help to establish that the girl has nothing and is trying to get away from something.

- I will then do a shot of her running down the same path.

- An over the shoulder shot as she turns round, you will see lights in the distance.

- A close up of the expression on her face when she realises that whoever is following her is not far behind.

- A low angle shot of the girl running away as she stumbles and gets really scared.

Idea 1

There is a garage/ workshop. Someone is tied up on a chair inside it, a bag over his head and really struggling to get out. The door swings open and there is a silhouette of a man standing in the doorway. He steps in and starts talking to the man who is tied up. The identity of the man still remains a mystery. All we can see is close up features, such as the coat he is wearing, his smart black shoes and quite noticeably the 0.22 calibre pistol he is holding in his hand. The vulnerable man is asked some questions, all resulting in a hard blow from the attacker. Eventually, the man gets so angry, he is resulted into using his gun, maybe getting a little carried away, firing eight shots at the man who is now sitting their… dead in blood soaked clothing. The door shuts and the man drives away.

- I would start off with some close up shots of things inside the garage e.g. tools, water dropping etc.

- I would then put in an establishing shot of the man inside the container.

-Then when the other subject comes in, there will be a series of close up shots of the main features e.g. the gun in his hand.

-This will be followed by some fast paced editing of the man asking questions and getting angrier, until a sequence of shots are fired.

- Not actually seeing the murder, the camera will be in mid shot, directly to the side of the man firing the gun.

- It will end with a low angled shot of the car, you will see the feet of the man getting in the car and then drive off.

Preliminary Evaluation

The preliminary task was a very successful process in terms of functionality and the way in which it was developed. I started off with a major problem half way through the planning process of the preliminary task. Unfortunately, my partner who I was working with dropped out of the course so I was left to devise and plan everything myself. My teacher decided to ensure that I got the best out of the preliminary task, I should work with another group. This was done within the lesson and I was assigned a job role as soon as I started. We all started on the planning process which went very smoothly. I was then in charge of creating the story board and shooting script. After much planning and discussion we decided that it was time to start the filming process.

The filming process went very smoothly and a lot easier than we anticipated. We shot the scene in a classroom provided to us by the school. We started off with a ‘CCTV’ type shot of a character walking up the stairs. We had done this to show that we are capable of using particular conventions and styles. Although this is not the final piece, we understand that we had to create a piece that gives all the necessary functions of a basic movie. During the scene we used a number of conventions such as panning, over the shoulder shots etc.

The editing process went as smoothly as the filming process was. We did not anticipate it to go so smoothly but it was finished within a couple of hours. We had the opportunity to use the new Apple Mac computers that the school recently brought. Using this was a panicle process because without the excellent software used on the mac’s the editing would not be as easy and therefore the preliminary task would not be as professional. This mac is a vital tool for have, especially for our final production piece.

Overall, both the planning, creating and evaluating process went very well. Hopefully we can use this experience of using the newly found conventions of filming and the acquisition of new technology along with the creativity of the group to ensure that we have a well thought out, planned and executed final thriller opening.

Summit Entertainment

Summit Entertainment is a fairly new production company. It was launched in 1996 by Patrick Wachsberger, Bob Hayward and David Garrett as a production, distribution and sales company. In 2006, it was declared as a fully independent film studio and with the addition of some very senior staff from Paramount Pictures, has become a very well known film company with an extremely high reputation.

Summit entertainment are very well known due to its box office record breaker - The Twilight Saga: New Moon. It has also produced great action thrillers such as:

- Mr and Mrs Smith

- Knowing

- Lock Stock & Two Smoking Barrels

- Never Back Down

The reason for researching the company is because they have a great reputation for producing and distributing hit movies but mostly for producing such popular thrillers. My own piece will fit well into the companies movie list and has an average age rating for its thriller or sub thriller genres as BBFC certificate 15.

BBFC

About the BBFC

The British Board of Film Classification was created by the film industry to ensure that films are seen by the correct audience. For example, if a film is rated PG then the film is suitable for a child of any age but any child under 12 must be accompanied by an adult.

The BBFC also deals with video games as well as Cinema and DVD ratings. Any video game with a particular theme or content must be submitted to the BBFC in the same way as videos, to receive a legally binding rating.


The meaning of each certificate rating



No age limit, nothing unsuitable for children.

General viewing, some scenes not suitable for ages 8 and under.


Suitable for only ages 12 and over. Anyone under 12 can watch if accompanied by someone over the age of 8.

Suitable for anyone aged 12 or over.

Suitable for anyone aged 15 or over.

Suitable for anyone aged 18 or over.

For adults only, may only be shown at licensed cinemas and sold in sex shops.

The BBFC and their advisers are licensed to issue cuts in films and scenes in order to meet particular standards and certificate ratings. This only happens on borderline ratings or when a distributor has asked for a particular rating. It is then the distributor’s decision to decide whether or not to delete the scenes or to show the movie at all.

Movie examiners who work for the BBFC are required to watch at least 5 hours and 20 minutes of media or a maximum of 35 hours per week.

Looking at the BBFC helps me to evaluate what I need to create for my two minute thriller opening. I need to be looking at the content within my piece and if any particular content, how i will show it within the aspect of film. For example, if I have a scene where someone is murdered, do i show the murder or do I use different techniques to show that a murder has been committed?

Psycho Comparison (1960&1998)

Here is a split screen video I found which very cleverly shows the similarities between the Psycho films from 1960 & 1998. The scene from the movie I am focusing on is video time 2:00 - 5:25.

Click Here For Video

Film Analysis - Psycho (1998)

Director – Gus Van Sant

Producer – Brian Graze

I am going to begin a detailed analysis of the murder scene from Psycho. I will be talking about all of the aspects that help to create the tension, action and excitement of this scene.

Firstly, a very noticeable aspect of the scene, right from the beginning is the use of camera work. There are a lot of camera shots that involve being in the shower with the character. This helps to give the audience a sense of connection to the character and also the situation that unfolds. One distinct shot is that of the main characters legs. At the start of the scene you see close up shots of her legs. They are moving and extended quite normally. After she is stabbed, you see that her legs are not extended and very limp. This helps to show the contrast between the before and after of the incident that takes place. Another phase of the camera work is the transition times between cameras. They increase a vast amount during the murder segment of the scene. This helps to create the feeling that the audience is still part of the action and to sympathise with the character.

The mise en scene of this scene is very dark and chilling. In my opinion this is largely because of the lighting. Having one, small light source in a small dark room creates a lot of shadowing. This shadowing takes away a lot of features and distinctions and being used alongside only grey and white props, helps to enhance the tense atmosphere that has been created.

A lot of digetic and non – digetic sound was used in this scene. The digetic sound that I noticed was the sound of the knife when the main character (protagonist) was being attacked and stabbed by the mystery character (antagonist). This sound helped to highlight the action and the viciousness of the attack. Another digetic sound that was included in the film was the scream from the main character just as the mystery character confronts her; again this helps to add to the suspense of the sequence and gives the closing stages a chilling finish. A good use of non – digetic sound comes just after the digetic screaming. This is a piece of music performed by an orchestra and the music helps to accentuate the situation. When the main character is being stabbed, there is a screeching of violins and when she has been finally killed, there is a large drone of cellos, which help to emphasise the whole situation from start to finish.

One method that I have noticed, again with the camera work and position of cameras is that there is a lot of close up shots of particular features or props to help emphasise and communicate the nature of the scene. For example, there are close ups of the knife used to kill the main character, the main characters hand holding the shower curtain, the main characters eye (which is a ‘zoom out’ from an extreme close up shot). These shots help to emphasise the principal features behind the scene and to create a sense of excitement and be apprehension. The shot that accentuates this scene the most is that of the murderer (antagonist) because although you can clearly see the large shimmering knife, you cannot see her face (due to the use of shadowing and clever lighting), this brings a huge feeling of mystery upon the situation because a lot of audiences do not like characters of such significance in the plot to be kept hidden, so they will be sub consciously forced to keep watching to unravel the identity of a very momentous character.

An intelligent use of special effects, along with camera work, prop choices and editing has helped to make one part of the film very noticeable and visually appealing. The part I am describing is the mid shot of the main character sliding into the bath as she is dieing. The red blood is enormously prominent as it spreads across the tiles because of contrast between the white and red. It really adds to the severity of the characters death and leaves a very distinct image of her intense, dieing stare and the framed blood trail across the wall.